The Vols have invested a ton of time in the top player in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 recruiting cycle, and their efforts continue to pay off.
Keon Johnson, a four-star shooting guard who plays for The Webb School in Bell Buckle, TN, announced his list of three finalists on Tuesday, and the Vols made the cut along with Virginia and Ohio State. He also announced that he plans to make his commitment public on August 6th.
Final 3️⃣ @TiptonEdits @EAB_Tennessee @WebbFeetBB @WebbSchoolAD @MarkGriffinVOL @bford02 pic.twitter.com/kImlV0iFny
— Keon Johnson (@iamkeonjohnson) May 14, 2019
According to the 247Sports Composite rankings, Johnson is the No. 30 overall player, No. 7 shooting guard, and No. 1 overall player in the state of Tennessee in the 2020 class.
Rick Barnes and his staff have developed a close relationship with Johnson over the last few years, and Johnson has been on Tennessee’s radar for quite some time. His EAB travel team coach, Mark Griffin, is a former Vol himself. Johnson has visited UT several times, and Tennessee’s coaches have checked in on him plenty as well.
The talented guard is listed as a shooting guard by recruiting services, but he has the skills to play at point guard if UT wants to put him there. It’s likely he’ll remain out at shooting guard, though.
Johnson, who measures in around 6-foot-5, 180 pounds, is a tremendous defender and has a knack for picking off passes and blocking shots. He uses his defense to fuel his offense, and he has a variety of ways he can score. Johnson can nail threes, hit pull-up jumpers, drive in the lane, and has some post moves as well. Johnson has a really impressive vertical and just seems to float higher and higher in the air as he skies for dunks. He’s a very well-rounded player with an extremely high ceiling.
As a junior for The Webb School, Johnson averaged 24.6 points, 8.6 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 3.0 steals, and 2.4 blocks per game according to MaxPreps. He shot 58.4 percent overall and 38.3 percent from three. He’s currently playing in the Adidas AAU circuit, and he’s averaging around 22 points, six rebounds, and three assists per game. He’ll also be attending the NBPA Top 100 Camp in June.
Johnson is one the Vols’ top priorities in the 2020 class along with players like five-star guard Jaden Springer, four-star forward PJ Hall, and four-star guard Matthew Murrell.
Tennessee currently has one player committed to them in their 2020 class. Five-star small forward Corey Walker gave the Vols an early 2020 commit back in March of this year, and he could be joined by several other highly-rated players in UT’s 2020 class.
